Leverage .tab Files to Create a Master Field List from a Group of Existing Labels

Description

The Field List selection feature in Loftware Label A label is a design area on the computer screen where a label format is created or edited. Manager provides you with the ability to constrain the field names on a label to a pre-defined list. This is very helpful in LPS systems where only certain data is passed to the label. 

Using the .tab file Preference in Design32, a Field List can be created using the field names from a group of previously created labels.

How to create a master Field List from a group of existing labels

1. In Design32, go to Options > Preferences.
   
   
   
2. Enable the Preference called Create Tab File on Save.
   
   
   
3. Close and re-open Design 32 to activate the newly selected preference.
   
   
4. Open then save each label containing the field names you wish to include in your Field List. This will create .tab files where the label files are saved.
   
   
5. In the directory containing the .tab files, create a text file with the following lines:
   @echo off
   copy *.tab+*.tab summary.txt
   Close
   Save the file as a .bat file; for example, SUMMARY.BAT.
   
   
6. Run the new .bat file by double-clicking it from a File Explorer. This will create a summary.txt file in the directory containing the field name information included from all the saved .tab files.
   
   
   
7. Open the new summary.txt file using Excel.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Insert a row above all of the field name records to create a header row.
   
   
   
9. Enter values for the columns as follows:
   Field Name, Length, Tab Order, Field Type
   
   
   
10. Select all records, the perform a Remove Duplicates on the selection.
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. Remove the Length, Tab Order, and Field Type columns, as they are unneeded in the Field List.
    
    
    
12. Select all records in the remaining Field Name column and sort them.
    
    
    
13. Save the result as a Text file with the name of the Field List you wish to use in the Loftware Labeling folder; for example Field Name.txt.
     
    
    
14. Rename the new .txt file to a .lst extension.
    
     
15. The new Field List may now be used when creating a new label file in Design32.